Olympus Evolt E-510 SLR Digital Camera Sample Photos

The Olympus EVOLT E-510 camera is the terrific option for serious amatuer and semi-professional photographers. I am just renewing my attention to photography after several years of storing all of my Nikon F series bodies and lens in the closet.

I am elated with all of the features in the E-510. It gives me the pro features without the hefty price tag. I am convinced that I will soon be producing photos that will compare with shots taken with any of the current DSLR cameras costing twice as much. It is a very comfortable camera in my hands.... and it's already beginning to feel like a part of me.

Has anybody taken a serious photo with this camera. I mean a picture with quality for an exhibition. Would be interesting to such a picture. My main reason is because I want to know if it´s good enough to have as a second camera and also for lightweight traveling. My main camera is a Canon 5 D. Maybe the natural choice would be a Canon 400 D/Xti, but it looks like Olympus has some good points.

I paid a visit to London Camera Exchange Southampton yesterday (18 May 2007) to see the e510 & e410 demonstrators. They were pre-production models; I was not allowed to put in a card, so could not take away any test images. The e410 is clearly intended as the simpler to use. By comparison, you can scroll through the metering options for the e510 quickly, without having to enter the full menu experience.

You toggle the liveview with a button just to the right of the screen. It's clear and bright, with a picture visible even in bright sunlight. When you turn the liveview on the mirror flicks up. You have to turn it off again to use the optical viewfinder. There's quite a wide viewing angle. I felt that it would be possible to use it while holding the camera up to photograph over the heads of a crowd, compact camera style. Possibly a hinged screen, as with the e330 would make that easier, but no doubt that would add expense.

The people from Olympus were keen to stress the value of the live view for macro work. At this stage in its development there is scope to improve its performance in handling moving subjects. Objects on the screen do not move smoothly. But they're likely to be in your field of vision anyway, so I don't see that as a real problem. But there is noticeable shutter lag when you have the liveview turned on. You are going to have to anticipate the shot slightly when you are shooting over the heads of the crowd. But at least you do have a viewfinder that gives you the ability to attempt that shot (in response to users of other makes who might be tempted to condemn the entire system on the basis of that remark!). I'd like to emphasis that there is no shutter lag when you have the liveview off.

The optical viewfinder is as good as any other. Subjectively I thought it was brighter and clearer than my current camera (e300). I could easily turn the mode dial on the top with my finger
on the e510; less easily on the e410. It was quick and easy to change the metering options on the e510. I can see the 'highlight spot' being a great tool for getting the best exposure when shooting RAW. It's not quite the full OM4 metering system, but its good.

I couldn't test the effectiveness of the image stabiliser in the e510. Nor could I assess the noise; I'd have liked to be able to take away some 1600 asa pictures for that.

I'm an OM user. To my mind this is pretty close to the 'digital OM' I've been expecting from Olympus since they launched the e330. Good quality, compact and innovative. The e510 ticks all the boxes on my wish list. My only slight doubt - and it won't put me off buying it - is the slight shutter delay with liveview. I'm sure Olympus will improve on that as they develop the system.

I got the impression that the e410 is closer to launch than the e510 and will be in the shops first.